Team: Quetta Gladiators
City: Quetta, Balochistan
Ground: Bugti Stadium, Quetta
Number of Titles: 1 (2019)
Who Are Quetta Gladiators?
Quetta Gladiators are one of the six Pakistan Super League teams, with this side also known as Shan-e-Pakistan or the Purple Force. The latter nickname comes from the fact that they play in a purple strip, with the franchise owned by Nadeem Omar and the club were founded in 2015.
The Gladiators play their home games at the Bugti Stadium in Quetta, with the team having proven competitive in the Pakistan Super League so far and they secured their maiden PSL title in 2019, with a number of high-profile players having made an appearance for the team.
The PSL History of Quetta Gladiators
The Quetta Gladiators have been competing in the Pakistan Super League since 2016 and they hit the ground running in their first ever campaign. Having navigated their way through to the final that year, they lost to Islamabad United in the final by six wickets after previously winning a thrilling semi-final where they overcame Peshawar Zalmi by a single run.
The 2017 Pakistan Super League season was a case of history repeating itself, with the Gladiators once again competing in a five-team division which saw them finish second in the overall standings. It was a crazy eliminator which saw Quetta once again down Peshawar by a single run to progress to the final.
However, the Gladiators then met Zalmi again in the final and this time the latter were able to turn the tables, with Peshawar having overcame Karachi Kings in the second eliminator before a comprehensive win by fifty-eight runs against Quetta.
Peshawar Zalmi continued to be the nemesis of Quetta Gladiators in 2018 and edged them out of the play-offs in the opening game, although the latter managed to cast off their bridesmaid tag a year later by finally landing their first ever championship after a series of near-misses.
This was a highly impressive season for Quetta who were able to win nine of their twelve games played that Pakistan Super League season. During the regular season, there was nothing to split them and Peshawar after winning seven and losing three when the six teams battled it out.
The Gladiators beat Zalmi in the first play-off game and ended up playing their arch-nemesis in the final in Karachi, with an eight-wicket victory finally allowing them to enter the winners’ enclosure.
Who Holds the Quetta Gladiators Records?
When it comes to the players who have amassed the most runs at the time of writing, then Sarfaraz Ahmed has comfortably passed the 1,000 run mark. He was able to register 1,341 in 72 matches and they were scored over sixty innings.
Shane Watson turned out for the Gladiators between 2018-20, with the Australian batsman having clocked up 996 runs over 31 matches for Quetta.
Quetta have had some long-standing bowlers during their time in the Pakistan Super League, with Mohammad Nawaz having achieved fifty wickets after turning out for the Gladiators since 2016, with Mohammad Hasnain second in the order.
